Well, after 14 hours and 5 minutes and 7500 miles in the air....I made it!!!

The flight went very well, and I believe I was able to sleep for awhile . Going through customs and immigration was relatively painless, although my almonds were confiscated because they were not "roasted."  Personally, I think the declarations dude thought they looked good and wanted them for himself. Hmmmph!

I arrived on Monday morning, even though it was Sunday afternoon in Green Bay. I'm 15 hours ahead of Central time in WI. With the time change and length of the flight, I literally "lost" Sunday. But I will gain time back when I fly home.

I took the public bus from the airport to my hotel, which, was also relatively painless. I'm finding that Aussies are as friendly as everyone says. People are very helpful and willing to answer questions.

When I got to my hotel, I discovered my room wouldn't be ready for a few more hours, so I Skyped home and talked to my mom and dad. They were happy that I made it here safely. The guy at the hotel front desk is actually from Seattle and is here studying, so he was also very helpful with questions I had . He said he could tell I was from Wisconsin from my "accent."  haha

I bought some bus passes, stopped at the grocery store and did some Facebooking while waiting for my room to get ready. I was given a HUGE room that sleeps 5. Not sure how and why I did, but I'm not complaining - I like the extra space! The room is fine - could use a paint job, but it's charming, clean, has hot water in the shower, wi-fi and a toilet that flushes - hey, works for me!

It was overcast and a little rainy today, but after I took a shower I decided to head to Coogee Beach and do the cliff walk from here to Bondi Beach. By the way, it's Coo-jee, not Coo-gee, I learned that from front-desk dude. And Circular Quay is pronounced kee (not quay). After stopping at a sushi train place near the beach, I started my walk.

Even though it was windy, cloudy and sometimes misting, the views were spectacular . At some points I was literally walking on cliff-like rock, but for the most part there's a nice path where I saw tourists and locals getting in a daily walk/run. I love water and beaches, and even though the weather wasn't perfect, it didn't dampen my spirits. At Bronte Beach,people were surfing, so I walked through the sand and decided to dip my toes in the water - holy cold!

I needed a quick nap after my walk, as I was pretty spent. My plan was to go out for a decent/nice dinner here in Randwick, but I opted to grab some fruit at the store and a slice of pizza from a Lebanese joint on the street. Oh, and you know how they say the sun is very strong in Sydney, as in, even through the clouds? Well, that's true. I woke from my nap with a lovely sunburned arms, shoulders and neck. It doesn't hurt, thank goodness, and the aloe I brought should help. But, I guess I learned my lesson on this one.

Tomorrow I will most likely head to the harbor/Circular Quay and buy some overpriced touristy crap that I don't need. :) Stuff here is not cheap - kiwis are about $.50 a piece, and bottled water is close to $2 for a small bottle. But, I feel so lucky to be here, that it's not bugging me. And honestly, it's not like I will get back here anytime soon.

Good night!
-Jamie

PS. GO PACK GO!!!! :)